with the Baycurrent Classic in Japan and ending with the RSM Classic just before Thanksgiving. That still leaves players time to jockey for position in the FedEx Cup Fall standings, where anyone inside the top 100 will earn exempt status on tour next year. Those finishing Nos. 51-60 will earn a spot into the first two signature events of the year.

Only one player moved inside the top 100 after the Bank of Utah Championship, where Austin Smotherman won to collect his first tour title. That was Billy Horschel, the eight-time PGA Tour winner who tied for 13th place to move from No. 101 to No. 94. He opened Sunday in Utah with four birdies in the first six holes, then played the next 10 in even par. But birdies on the last two holes had him sign for a 65 and he's now several spots inside the magic number. He had been one of the biggest American supporters of the BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour the past few years and skipped the flagship event this year, saying he was “devastated” but needed to remain in the U.S. to improve his status.

Now sitting right on the bubble is Seamus Power, who moved from 104th to 101st after making birdie on the last in Utah to tie for 21st place.

but again, he fell short in his bid for a victory. It came at the hands of Steven Alker, who win the Jefferson Lehigh Valley Classic for his third senior title in his last four starts. Block, the Southern California club pro, entered the final round at Lehigh Country Club in Allentown, Pa., with a one-shot advantage, but he played his first 10 holes in one over par and never had any momentum. He birdied 16 and 17 to give himself a chance but bogeyed the last to end two shots behind Alker, who made six birdies to shoot 66. Block now has four top-10 finishes in seven senior starts this season and is eligible to play in the tour's three-event playoff series.

“A little bit surprised,” Alker said. “I just crushed it the last six weeks, the scoring got better, my putting got better, driving it better, doing everything better. So I didn't have my A-game today, but just good to get it done. Made some big putts there at the end.”

Becoming exempt from mandatory military service by winning a gold medal was plenty for 24-year-old South Korean. But what didn’t hurt Kim in overcoming the fears of losing his final round lead in Japan was something more: inspiration. And that appears to have come in the form of a text message from none other than Tiger Woods. Kim has become friends with the 15-time major winner as a teammate on the Jupiter Links Golf Club in the TGL. After Kim won the Genesis Scottish Open in July for his first victory since October 2023, Woods sent a congratulatory text. And Kim revealed that the night before the final round of the Asian Games, Woods again shot him a message: “Just be you. Nothing more, nothing less.” Kim came through with a final-round 66 to claim the gold by three shots. Kim seemed to play off the importance of the win at first, but his relief has become evident in the aftermath. “I feel like I have been unloading things off my shoulders all season, like taking water buckets out of my bag,” Kim said. “I think I can finally get a good night’s sleep now.” And he can partially thank Tiger.

Japan’s Yuta Suguira played tremendously well in the third round of the Korn Ferry Tour's Compliance Solutions Championship in Owasso, Okla., making 11 birdies and an eagle to shoot 12-under 58 at The Patriot Golf Club. It was the fourth sub-59 score in KFT history, and a bogey kept Suguira from tying the all-time mark of 57 set by Cristobal del Solar’in the 2024 Astara Golf Championship.

We give Suguira an enthusiastic golf clap instead of a throwing our fists in the air for several reasons. The KFT offers pushover courses at times, including the Patriot, which surrendered a 59 last year to Davis Chatfield while Adrien Dumont de Chassart opened with two 61s en route to a record-breaking total of 33 under. As with last year, it doesn’t help the course’s defense that the golfers are playing preferred lies. The scoring average for the round was a KFT-record 66.57, and there were two 60s, including William Sides lipping out a birdie putt on 18 for 59. Is this really the “test” you want in the first of two KFT Finals events?

For his work, Suguira—the 2025 Japan Tour rookie of the year—moved into a tie for eighth heading into Sunday. The leader at 21 under is Trent Phillips, who shot 61 on Saturday.

He is, after all, the most polarizing golf club pro on the planet, and he continues to make competitive waves on PGA Tour Champions. Block is once again contending for his first senior title this week in the Jefferson Lehigh Valley Classic, taking the clubhouse lead on Saturday by shooting 63. But he doesn’t need a victory to celebrate a big milestone, and that part has gone under the radar.

As reported by the Daily Breeze in Orange County, Block will officially become a member of the over-50 circuit after Lehigh because he'll have made seven starts this season and has earnings that put him well into the top 72 on tour. Block has three top-10s since turning 50 in June and had earned $326,486. That would have put him at No. 50 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings as a member, and he figures to climb farther up with another strong result in Allentown, Pa. So, Block is in the three-event playoffs that begin Oct. 23 at the Stifel Charity Classic in St. Louis—which happens to be his hometown. Just one more crazy Blockie twist.

“I really didn’t think it was a possibility with such a short season left [after turning 50] that I could make the playoffs,” Block told Southland Golf, “but that was my goal—and now it’s going to happen. It’s unbelievable.”

The Piper opened to the public on Friday at the Legends Golf Resort, where three 18-hole courses—the Heathland, the Parkland and the Moorland—already sit (guests also have access to Oyster Bay and Heritage Club). Designed by Ken Baker and sitting on 12 acres behind the clubhouse, The Piper features holes from 54 yards up to 120—providing a fun option for all ages and abilities. The course will be $10 for juniors and $25 for other guests for the rest of 2026. Check out our list of the 25 best courses you can play in Myrtle Beach here.

That’s what makes this out-of-this-world par from Nicolo Galletti so impressive. Playing the Compliance Solutions Championship, the 31-year-old was 60th in points, sitting right on the bubble to advance to next week’s KFT Championship. Mid-way through the second round at The Patriot Golf Club in Oklahoma, he was hovering around the projected cut when he hit his tee ball on the par-5 first hole right into the woods. He played a provisional, which went left into a penalty area. Somehow, though, he managed to find his first ball, punched out to 192 yards and eventually got up and down from 35 feet to save par.

Galletti went on to make the cut, but he still has some work to do over the weekend. At T-47 entering the third round, he is projected to drop to 64th in KFT points. But at least he’s got his fate in his hands.

Needing to rally to make the cut at the Black Desert Resort, the 21-year-old rookie birdied the 14th and 16th holes but still had to make at least a 4 on the 600-yard, par-5 finisher. And it didn’t look good when Koivun’s tee shot found a fairway bunker. “Didn't have the greatest lie," he recounted. "But I pulled 3-wood and I was, like, ‘I'm going to go for broke here.’ Came out nicely.”

Boy, did it. Koivun hammered that wood from the sand 260 yards and ended up just 43 yards from the flag. From there, clipped a low chip to five feet and made the birdie putt to shoot four-under 67 and finish on the cut number at six under. It's worth watching:

After earning 2½ points in Team USA's win last week, including a singles victory over Si Woo Kim, Koivun admitted on Friday to being “mentally exhausted” and “struggling with some emotions.” And for those reasons, he said, “I’m really proud of the way I fought back on those last nine holes.”

So he was to be forgiven on Friday when he couldn’t remember the last time he’d played in the final group on a weekend. The subject came up because Streelman got into the final three-ball on Saturday for the third round of the Bank of Utah Championship. Guys have been shooting lights out amid the red rocks and black lava fields, and the 47-year-old Streelman went 63-64 to be two shots behind leader Austin Smotherman. Streelman wasn’t originally in the field but got in on his number when Lanto Griffin pulled out. “Very thankful and fortunate to be here. Also, I feel like I have nothing to lose, really,” Streelman said.

Streelman is the definition of a journeyman, having played 19 consecutive seasons on the tour, with 11 more appearances left to reach 500. He could only make 10 starts in 2025 after tearing the meniscus in his knee. “My family's coming in this weekend. I just feel I'm going to try and attack and have fun,” said Streelman, who is 151st in the FedEx Cup and could make a huge jump toward the top 100 with a strong finish.

Koepka's been on staff with Nike and Srixon, as well as having a successful stint as an equipment free agent. And yet, even through all the changes, two clubs have managed to fend off the competition: Nike's Vapor Fly Pro 3-iron and TaylorMade's M2 3-wood.

While the former remained in the bag at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Koepka made a surprise move and replaced the M2 3-wood with a TaylorMade R7 Quad mini driver.

Whether this is a one-week tweak for links golf or the start of a longer move away from the M2 remains to be seen. Koepka, who's three shots back of the lead heading into the weekend, hasn't spoken about the club change. But based on photos I captured during the PGA Championship, the 3-wood was showing serious signs of wear.

In other words, it may have simply been time to replace it. As for the mini driver, the club has become a bag staple for several high-profile names in recent years, including Tommy Fleetwood, Adam Scott and Rickie Fowler, because it offers versatility off the tee and from the turf.